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John Thompson (politician)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rt. Hon. Sir John Sparrow David Thompson
John Thompson (politician)

In office
December 5, 1892 – December 12, 1894
Preceded by John Abbott
Succeeded by Mackenzie Bowell

Born November 10, 1845
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Died December 12, 1894
Windsor Castle, England
Political party Conservative
Religion Methodist, then Roman Catholic

Sir John Sparrow David Thompson, KCMG, PC, QC, (November 10, 1845December 12, 1894) was a Canadian lawyer and judge who served as the fourth Prime Minister of Canada from December 5, 1892 to December 12, 1894 as well as Premier of Nova Scotia in 1882.

Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia to John Sparrow Thompson and Charlotte of Pottinger, he is of Irish descent. Thompson married Annie Affleck (1845-1913) in 1870 and with her had two sons and three daughters with four other children not surviving infancy. Like many Canadian leaders, he married a strong-willed wife — Annie Thompson had the same kind of spirit that had driven Agnes Macdonald to ride the cowcatcher of the CPR train through the British Columbia mountains. Thompson's family life was marred by tragedy. His daughter Annie died at one year of age, while youngest son David lived to be two. Two of Thompson's other children died at birth (the Thompsons had five children survive childhood).

Thompson was called to the Nova Scotia Bar in July 1865 and from 1878 to 1882 served as Attorney General in the provincial government of Simon H. Holmes. He briefly held the office of Nova Scotia premier in 1882 but his government was defeated in that year's election.

After his resignation from government, Thompson was immediately appointed to the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia by the Prime Minister of Canada, Sir John A. Macdonald. In this role, he was instrumental in founding the Dalhousie Law School in 1883.

After several failed overtures, Sir John A. Macdonald finally recruited Thompson to Ottawa in 1885. Thompson was sworn in as Minister of Justice in September 1885, and subsequently won a seat in Parliament representing Antigonish in October of 1885. When he returned to Ottawa, the Riel crisis was in full swing. What to do with Louis Riel, who'd been sentenced to hang for leading the 1885 North-West Rebellion, was now the responsibility of Thompson as the new minister of justice. Although he was ill with kidney stones at the time of Riel's execution, Thompson made his first major speech to parliament during the subsequent debate, arguing that anyone who encouraged aboriginal Canadians to act against the state could not escape justice. This speech was notable, and helped to popularize Thompson, and he quickly rose to become a leading member of the Conservative government.

Thompson's achievements as Minister of Justice included the first Criminal Code of Canada. His rise in government is probably due as much to the influence of Ishbel Aberdeen, the wife of the Governor General, as to MacDonald's mentoring.

When Sir John A. Macdonald fell ill, Thompson was the last minister to see him before the Prime Minister's devastating stroke of in May 1891. Following Macdonald’s death a week later, there was a cabinet crisis. Governor General Lord Stanley finally called on Thompson to form a government, but Thompson declined. Religious prejudice against the Roman Catholic Thompson, having converted at his marriage, made this course of action politically untenable, and Thompson recommended John Abbott who ultimately accepted.

[edit] Prime Ministership

Thompson assumed office of Prime Minister when Abbott retired in 1892.

His first major speech as PM was given in Toronto in January 1893 covering the topics of tolerance and Canadian nationalism in conjunction with loyalty to the British crown. At the time, Thompson was concerned about the possibility of the annexation of Canada by the United States, a goal which was being pursued within Canada by the Continental Union Association, a group of Ontario and Quebec Liberals. Despite his concern, Thompson ultimately realized that the conspiracy to make Canada part of the United States was confined to a small and noisy minority within the opposition party.

In March 1893 Thompson travelled to Paris, France as one of the judges on the tribunal to settle the Canada-US dispute over the seal harvest in the Bering Sea. The result was a victory for Thompson as the tribunal ruled there was no justification for the United States claim that the Bering Sea was closed to all but American seal hunters.


Other matters of concern during Thompson's Prime Ministership included the reduction of trade tariffs, and questions over schooling in Manitoba and in North-West Territories, where disputes over the role of Catholics and Protestants in administering the school system existed. Ultimately, the North-West school problem was resolved to Thompson’s liking, but the Prime Minister would not live to see a similar resolution to the Manitoba matter.

Sir John Thompson had been Prime Minister of Canada for only two years when he died suddenly of a heart attack at the age of 49 on December 12, 1894, at Windsor Castle, where Queen Victoria had just made him a member of her Privy Council. He was the second of two Canadian prime ministers to die in office (the first was Sir John A. Macdonald), and the first of three who did not die in Canada. (The other two were Sir Charles Tupper and Richard Bedford Bennett.)

He was buried on January 3, 1895 in the Holy Cross Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia after an elaborate funeral in England staged by Queen Victoria. Despite having held Prime Ministerial office, Thompson left few means and Parliament set up a fund to support his widow and children. His only remaining descendent today is Ann Mitchell.

[edit] Supreme Court Appointments

Thompson recommended to the Governor General that the following be appointed as Justice to the Supreme Court of Canada:

[edit] External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
Preceded by:
Simon H. Holmes
Premier of Nova Scotia
1882
Succeeded by:
William T. Pipes
Preceded by:
Sir Alexander Campbell
Attorney General and Minister of Justice
1885–1894
Succeeded by:
Sir Charles Hibbert Tupper
Preceded by:
Sir John Abbott
Prime Minister of Canada
1892–1894
Succeeded by:
Sir Mackenzie Bowell
Conservative Leader
1892–1894
Preceded by:
Angus McIsaac
MP for Antigonish, NS
1885–1894
Succeeded by:
Colin McIsaac


Prime Ministers of Canada Flag of Canada
Macdonald | Mackenzie | Abbott | Thompson | Bowell | Tupper | Laurier | Borden | Meighen | King | Meighen | King | Bennett | King | St. Laurent | Diefenbaker | Pearson | Trudeau | Clark | Trudeau | Turner | Mulroney | Campbell | Chrétien | Martin | Harper


Premiers of Nova Scotia Flag of Nova Scotia
Colonial: Uniacke | Young | Johnston | Young | Howe | Johnston | Tupper
Provincial: | Tupper | Blanchard | Annand | Hill | Holmes | Thompson | Pipes | Fielding | Murray | Armstrong | Rhodes | Harrington | Macdonald | MacMillan | Macdonald | Connolly | Hicks | Stanfield | Smith | Regan | Buchanan | Bacon | Cameron | Savage | MacLellan | Hamm | MacDonald
Conservative Maple Leaf Logo

Leaders of the Conservative Party of Canada and its antecedents

Liberal-Conservative/Conservative/Unionist/N.L.C./National Government/Progressive Conservative (1867-2003): Macdonald | Abbott | Thompson | Bowell | Tupper | Borden | Meighen | Bennett | Manion | Meighen | Bracken | Drew | Diefenbaker | Stanfield | Clark | Mulroney | Campbell | Charest | Clark | MacKay

Reform (1987-2000)/Canadian Alliance (2000-2003): Manning | Day | Harper

Conservative (new) (2003-present): Harper

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